Walking into Washington and withdrawing with a win, the Golden Hawks conquered the Demons, 8-4, on June 28.

Despite winning by doubling Washington’s score, this game was no walk in the park for Mid-Prairie early on. The Demons were in the driver’s seat after a big second inning propelled them to take a three-run lead, but the Hawks would not be phased, rallying on offense and playing shutdown defense to secure the win. 

“We did an awesome job tonight. You know, we gave up that big inning there in the second, Washington won that inning, we won the rest of them,” Mid-Prairie coach Kyle Mullet said. “We take away those two physical errors, the scores a lot different. Really proud of our guys. We’ve been doing that all this year. I feel like we’ve done an awesome job of staying calm and collected in those situations and playing like the score is zero zero and still attack and have good games doing that.”

Winning has become commonplace for Mid-Prairie this season. Already surpassing the nine-game winning streak they had earlier this year, this win over Washington pushes their current streak to 11 wins in-a-row. 

Ranked No. 2 in class 2A, the Golden Hawks now sit at a 23-6 record. This is the best record Mid-Prairie has posted since 2010, a season where they ended with 24 wins. 

This game began with the Hawks taking a quick lead. The lead off hitter for Mid Prairie, senior Cain Brown, started things off with a single. Fellow senior Karson Grout followed this up by blasting the ball into the outfield for a double, bringing in Brown for the score. 

The second frame saw the Demons fight back. Scoring four runs, Washington went from trailing by one to leading by three. Washington players and home fans alike filled the air with jubilation in this inning but unbeknownst to them, no other Demon runs would be scored for the rest of the game. 

In the top of the fourth Mid-Prairie scored three runs to tie the game. Sophomore Brady Weber would score after a sacrificial bunt from senior Collin Miller. Then a base hit by senior Camron Pickard brought in juniors Joe Hall and Dylan Henry for the other two scores. 

“Cameron Pickard had a big two out hit there with runners on second and third,” Mullet said about which players impressed in this game. “Obviously Karson Grout at shortstop there, making his plays. Brock Harlan behind the plate. Dylan Henry had some big hits. Another one was Bowen Burmeister being back, had an injury coming off a knee surgery and pitched those first two innings and did an outstanding job.”

Mid-Prairie broke the tie and took the lead for good in the fifth frame. 

Grout hit a lead off double and then eventually delivered the lead snatching run, being brought in by junior Brock Harland. Weber and Harland also scored to bolster the lead after Henry hit a double. 

The last Golden Hawk score came in the next inning. Brown, using his speed, stole home for the score. No other runs were scored after this, leading to Mid-Prairie emerging victorious.

Leading the team in hits with three, with two of them being doubles, was Grout. Grout has amassed 38 hits this year to lead the team. He also ended this game with one RBI, a category he also leads the team in with 31 overall. 

Mid-Prairie junior Bowen Burmeister pitched in the first two frames and freshman Gentry Bontrager pitched in the last two frames. Taking the win on the mound was sophomore Landry Gingerich who pitched in three innings. Gingerich would record two strikeouts and allow zero hits. 

With the regular season coming to an end these last games will serve as a great tune up for the Hawks as they enter postseason play and coach Mullet stresses the importance of focusing on one game at a time. 

“Day by day, we’re focused on us. Every day, trying to get better, trying to take a step forward every day going into the postseason,” Mullet said. “We try not to look too far ahead. We’re focused on our next opponent. Just focused on the day-to-day stuff. If we’ve got practice that day, focus on getting better. That day, we got a game, focusing on that opponent and winning the game and then obviously making our team better in the process.”

Mid-Prairie 2, Cascade 1

Before the postseason began the Golden Hawks traveled to Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids to face off against the No. 7 ranked team in Class 2A, the Cascade Cougars.

Mid-Prairie, ranked No. 2 in Class 2A, found themselves in a defensive battle but when it was all said and done the Hawks prevailed with a 2-1 victory on June 30. 

   The first frame saw the Cougars score their first and only run of the game to take the lead. Mid-Prairie responded in the third inning with a single run of its own to tie the game. The Golden Hawks scored one more run in the fifth to break the tie and take the lead for good.

Senior Karson Grout scored Mid-Prairie’s first run in the third frame by hitting a solo home run. Scoring the winning run in the fifth frame was senior Camron Pickard. Pickard was able to come home off the bat of sophomore Brady Weber. 

The Golden Hawks had three pitchers take the mound: Weber, junior Brock Harland, and senior Collin Miller. Both Miller and Weber pitched in two innings while Harland pitched in three. This trio combined for five strikeouts and gave up four hits in total.  

Mid-Prairie (25-6) began its tournament trail at home, battling Wilton (12-17) in a Class 2A quarterfinal postseason matchup on July 5.